All work and no play?

Well, we all know what happens.

Between the long shifts in the Emergency Room and the Dusty Remodel, it probably sounds like we haven't had any time for play.

But that is not the case.

When we first moved to Iowa, a lot of the locals kept apologizing over the lack of things to do. We got a lot of "Sorry it's so boring here."

Keith and I, so far, have been far from bored (it may just be we are too busy to be bored. But we like to think that we are good at finding things to do.)

A week and a half ago, we took the boys to an RC airshow. I remember my dad flying remote control airplanes when I was a little girl. I remember watching him careful build the small scale airplane in his office. (I also remember crying about wanting to go home at one of the airshows, but give me a break, I was four years old.)

The airshow was surprisingly crowded. And a lot of fun. There were freestyle competitions, "limbo" competitions, a wonderfully moving tribute to WWII veterans, and a huge candy drop (yes, from a RC airplane) for the kids.

Last week, when I actually had two days in a row off, we decided that all the stress of the Big Move, Residency, and the Dusty Remodel were starting to affect everyone's nerves. So we decided it was time for a mini-vacation.

We drove to Des Moines, stayed in a hotel, went swimming, and went out to dinner.

The next day we went to the Blank Park Zoo.

Monkeys watching monkeys

We had a wonderful time. The zoo didn't have many of the animals that Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City had. Most notably, no elephants. And no rhinos, hippos, or crocodiles. But the zoo was much more interactive. There was a huge petting area with llamas, goats, and cows. There were camel rides (and no way I was going to get my over-excitable children to even consider that.) There were multiple training and feeding demonstrations for servals, penguins, sea lions, and lions.

Feeding goats

Feeding koi
It was a feeding frenzy! Look at all those open mouths!

Rope Bridge in the Zoo's new aquarium/indoor exhibit building

No zoo trip is ever complete without a train ride

And the truely best part...

We got to feed the giraffes!




The weather was nice, the boys were delightful (all except the time Blaise hit some lady in the back of the head during a mini-tantrum at the bird show.)

Blaise, being particularly good atop Daddy's shoulders

We came home happy, tired, and refreshed. And feeling like, at least for this weekend, Iowa had plenty for us to do.

The first reveal

I'm sure you've been wondering. After all, I talked a lot about it. And then...nothing.

I'm talking about our home renovation.

When we bought this house, we knew it needed a lot of work. How much work, however, we, um, just slightly underestimated.

Every day a little more gets done on the house. Mostly due to Keith. As I am off saving lives. (Or more accurately, wishing that I could be in the trauma room helping save lives, but am instead handling the patients with constipation and headaches that still need taking care of while everyone else is in the trauma room.)

Anyways.

A lot of work has been done, but I haven't posted any pictures because no room is completely done. We are getting carpet upstairs next week, so I will be able to post pictures of our upstairs rooms then. (Do you have any idea how excited we are for carpet! We have been living on carpet pad for over a month!)

I do have a reveal today!

Today, I would like to reveal our family room.

This was by far the worst room in the house (well, besides the unfinished basement with the tornado shelter. That's just creepy.)

Our family room looked like this when we bought the house.



And then, if you remember, when we removed the carpet, we found this...


We let the water completely dry out. We killed all the mold (the smell of bleach is just now fading.) We sealed some cracks.

Step one: Raised subfloor underlay.


It looks like a big sheet of legos. It raises the subfloor up about 3/4 inch, so that it is off the damp, cold concrete floor. It prevents dampness from ruining the final floor, and helps keep rooms warmer in the winter.


Step two: Subfloor.


Step three: Pergo and tile and trim!



Step four: Step back, look at how great it looks, and cry a little because of how happy I am to have our own home, and have it looking this good!


We bought this shelving unit from IKEA (back when there was an IKEA 20 minutes away instead of 4 hours away.) We thought it would be enough to hold the boys toys, books, and movies. But I think we had forgotten just how many toys they have. It's nearly full, and we haven't even unpacked their books. But it still looks great.


It feels so good to have this room finally usable (and not smelling like mold.)

It still isn't completely done. We plan on tiling around the fireplace (we've already got the tile picked out). We will also install a big white mantel above the fireplace, hopefully before Christmas. And replace the stairs (next month?)

And someday, someday, there will actually be furniture in the room.

What did you do?

This is what I came home to after work today.

If you can't tell, this previously was an industrial sized roll of toilet paper that we found in our bathroom when removing the old vanity. Now it is a huge mess. And please ignore the fact that our master bedroom flooring is carpet pad, sans carpet. That is scheduled to change.

"Blaise, what did you do!?"

"Nothing. My cars did it. The toilet paper was bad!"

Sigh.

It doesn't appear that the terrible twos will be ending anytime soon.

A whole lot of sparklers

We actually did celebrate the Fourth of July. It has just taken me forever to get around and actually post anything. But since I have two hours before my next shift starts, I thought this would be perfect.

I actually had the Fourth of July off! For a new intern, this is a historic event!

The weather has been nice and mild for the last 10 days or so. But July 4th, we wake up to a heavy drizzle.

The rain wasn't heavy, there was no wind, and the temperature was nice, so we decided to set out and see if Iowans still have parades, even in bad weather.

Turns out they do.

The streets were lined with people. Guess a little rain doesn't stop anything here. As we were looking around, we noticed that all the other children had bags and trick-or-treat buckets. And as the parade started, those bags sure filled up fast with candy, popsicles, bottled water, and beads. Our boys didn't have bags, but we still left with more candy then they got last Halloween. Next year, we'll remember to take treat bags.

When the boys were drenched to their skin, we headed home.

We spent the rest of the day warming up over big bowls of popcorn.

As the evening came, the rain stopped and we enjoyed sparklers in the backyard.




(We would have done other fireworks, but sparklers were the only ones we could find for sale here. Much different than Utah, where every parking lot boasts its own firework stand.)

I was only going to post one video, but I thought that these were both so cute, I couldn't decide which one. So you get both. And sorry for the awful quality. I am still trying to figure out how to post videos from my real video camera.





After Roman and Blaise had gone through neary a dozen boxes (all without a single burn!) we went to watch fireworks.

The fireworks were being set off from a local park, and we watched them from a school field across the street. The field was full, but not crowded. There were kids running everywhere, bedecked with glow bracelets and necklaces, shrieking with laughter. Fireflies even flitted through the field. Families were sprawled out on blankets.

Everything was so relaxed, and low key, and so small town feeling. It was perfect. It felt like home.

I'm never sure how my boys will react to fireworks. Sometimes they like them, sometimes they don't.

Roman kept asking if we were going to get hit by a firework. Blaise kept asking if we were done. Between fielding those questions and "helping" Roman cover his ears from the loudest booms, there were plenty of "oooh"s and "aw"s.

We enjoyed our small town Midwestern holiday. Much slower paced than the typical holiday in Salt Lake City, but in so many ways, much more our pace.

Day One

I successfully made it through my first day as an intern.

I got to introduce myself as "Doctor" for the first time today.

I wrote orders and they happened. I asked nurses for things, and they got them. I felt, not just like a doctor, but like a grown-up.

And I got paid today. My first real paycheck in, um, a very long time.

I actually had a good day.

Which is very strange for me to say. I almost feel embarrassed to say it. I've spent to much time (and strangely, effort) into being upset about the demands of a medical life, and nervous about residency, that having fun was the last thing I expected.

I actually kind of like being a doctor.

Well, at least today I did.

When I wasn't thinking about how much I missed Roman and Blaise, and wondering how Keith was doing in his new role of stay at home dad. And wishing that I was much more caffeinated.

It was a successful day one. Now I just need to figure if it is all uphill or downhill from this point.

No more diapers...well, almost

We are celebrating!


Two days ago, we put Blaise in his first pair of little tiny underwear.

Is it terrible that I think him running around in his small WALL-E underwear is the cutest thing in the entire world? He just looks too little to be wearing such big boy clothes.

We never thought we would get to this point. Potty training, well, it's been rough, to say the least. We've struggled, taken breaks, tried again.

And the Big Move? Yeah, that didn't help at all.

A month ago (wow, a lot has happened in a month), Keith and I were nearly beside ourselves potty training Blaise. We both remember things being surprisingly easy with Roman (although I think there is some parental history skewing in those memories.)

I read several books, searched the internet, talked to people. But I hadn't found anything that I really wanted to implement. Until I read this post by MckMama over at My Charming Kids.

Her technique is very laid back. Which suited me. I don't need to be getting all worked up over pee. I have enough on my, er... suddenly "plate" doesn't seem like a good word choice here.

Basically, it is letting children go "bottomless" to connect their physical feelings with a physical result. "Oh, I felt like this, and "piddle" came out of me (yes, we have our own strange nicknames for bodily functions).

We didn't start bottomless training at our old apartment, because most of the apartment was carpeted, and we were getting it cleaned prior to the move. But once we got to our new house, complete with a wide expanse of laminate flooring, the pants came off.

And it worked! Blaise would go all day without an accident. Or he would come yelling that he needed to go potty. Then he would say that he had "piddled" on the floor and show me two or three small drops.

We've been doing this for a couple weeks and during his bottomless time, he had fewer and fewer accidents. Practically none the last several days.

We were now brave enough to go on to step 2: underwear. We put on his first pair on Saturday. He's still very proud of them.

Saturday went great, just two accidents. Sunday, a few more. Today, a few more.

All completely expected.

The important thing is that we are moving forward!

He still wears diapers (or Pull-Ups, but who are we kidding? Pull-Ups are just diapers with different pictures and side closures) at nap and bedtime. Because I have my limits on how much laundry I want to do.

I can almost see it now... the day we once again become diaper free!

Bigger Today

Roman turned 7 today.

I still can't believe that it happened.

When he was born, I felt old enough to have this darling newborn cuddle up to me.

But now that he is seven, I don't feel old enough or prepared enough.

He, on the other hand, is perfectly ready to be seven. Even when he woke up, he said, "Know what? I actually feel bigger today."

During moments like these, it is hard not to look back and reminisce about the baby he was and the charming boy he has become.

Two years old

Three years old

Another three year old picture
I love his eyes!

Four years old...
And silly!

Four years old

Five years old

Six years old

(I would have loved to put some baby pictures in, but none of them are scanned into the computer yet.)

There was no big birthday party today. There was just the four of us. But it has been an amazing day.

First, another butterfly greeted us in the jar on the counter early this morning...



Then, a multitude of ducks greeted us at the river's edge...


After that, it was time for Pixar's "Up." Complete with 3-D glasses. (And I totally recommend this movie. We loved it!)

Then cake, candles, and presents.



You have to admit that the cake turned out awesome! Every year, I let the boys request whatever they want for their birthday cake. And then it is up to me to figure out how to make it happen. It can be a little time consuming. But I only have to make two cakes a year. And it is always worth it, to see their faces light up.

Roman requested the "Hot Wheels Logo" for his cake. (Yes, his exact words.) And that's what he got! He loved it.

Where has the time gone?

I wish that I could take credit for how smart he is, for how curious he is, for how sensitive he is. But I know that I can't. All I know is that Keith and I were blessed to have Roman. Before he came along, we were just a couple. Roman came and made us a family.

Happy birthday, Roman!